MythBusters - Exploding Water Heater
Why Home Improvement Stack Exchange recommends it
DIY Stack Exchange answerers link it as a vivid illustration of why a malfunctioning or over-pressurized water heater is dangerous and why safety relief valves matter.
Recommended by 0 people across 0 different months, 2012 to 2023.
What it is
A short MythBusters clip from Discovery in which Adam and Jamie test how much destructive power a water heater holds when it is under pressure. It shows a water heater failing violently, presented in the show's usual demonstration style.
What people said
Cites KeithS · 2012-04 · Home Improvement Stack Exchange · on “DIY pool heater - best methods?”
When I first read this, my first instinct was "don't", and I think that still holds. You are mixing water, electricity and possibly natural gas in a single untested design, and if anything goes wrong your pool could drain out, you could get electrocuted going in the water, or you could even end up with a bomb. It's not worth whatever costs you'd save building your own heater versus buying a commercial unit. If you are really serious about a DIY pool heater, I think the best (safest, most reliable) route would probably be a heat exchanger sourced from a commercial hot water heater tank. You can build the heat exchanger yourself with a 55-gallon drum and some copper plumbing pipe, but for a wh
Cites pdd · 2018-06 · Home Improvement Stack Exchange · on “Water hammer, PRV, and safe water pressure at water heater”
Terminology PRV (pressure reducing valve) used to reduce the pressure in a piping system to a set maximum. T&P (temperature and pressure relief valve) used on a piping system as a safety devise to reduce the built up pressure in a piping system. Explanation It is not uncommon for noise to be generated by the PRV on the incoming water supply line. This typically means that the valve needs to be serviced. Often it can be caused by dirt or grit that has got into the valve, or ware of the internal parts. Often you can take it apart and clean in. There are also service kits for most PRVs that you can buy to replace the internal components. However, due to the cost of labour, and the relative low
Cites Ecnerwal · 2023-10 · Home Improvement Stack Exchange · on “Why do I hear water running through my water heater until the breaker is turned off?”
Bad water heater! Seems likely that the temperature/pressure relief valve to release excessively hot or over-pressure water from the water heater had actuated, since you mention that the water is really hot, and the "running water sound" is coming from the water heater. That may be plumbed outside, or to an exposed drain if done to code (the pipe is not supposed to go to a concealed drain, it's supposed to be air-gapped and visible, since it indicates a problem that needs to be solved with the water heater, such as a welded thermostat contact that won't shut off.) You'd continue to have "running water sounds" if the heater was boiling, even with the water shut off. When you shut off the powe